Originally Posted by Eowyn

Especially emphasized in Dr. Nedley's program for frontal lobe brain health:

DO: Omega-3's, tryptophan, folate, vitamin D, calcium, iron, B12 sublingual, (HYDROXYcobalamin will also help remove toxins that may be floating around), vitamin C

A good source of omega-3s AND tryptophan is ground flaxseed. You can mix 3 Tbsp in juice and drink it first thing in the morning to get your full daily dose.

Dr. Nedley DOES recommend a plant-based (vegan) diet as cholesterol and saturated fats can prevent some of these nutrients from crossing the blood-brain barrier and actually reaching the brain.

Also, drink plenty of WATER. Even mild dehydration can cause fatigue, cognitive slowing and other symptoms that mimic depression and PCS. Rule of thumb: Divide your body weight (in pounds) in half -- that's how many ounces you need to drink. Add 8 ounces for every hour of vigorous exercise. (For example, someone who weighs 100 lbs. needs to drink 50 oz. if they don't exercise and 58 oz. if they exercise for 1 hour).

DON'T: Avoid alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and other addictive substances. As stated above, he also recommends avoiding animal-based proteins as cholesterol and saturated fats can impede the body from transporting nutrients across the blood-brain barrier.

I specifically asked him about the tofu/glutamate/excitotoxin research due to the discussions on this board. He was familiar with it and stated that although he agreed with SOME of the conclusions (i.e. caffeine is harmful to the brain), the research methodology was flawed. The research was conducted by injecting substances into rats' brains and then declaring these substances lethal. The truth is, even if you inject sterile water into rats' brains, it will be lethal simply because you shouldn't inject things into rats' brains. He also stated that this was acknowledged briefly in the excitotoxin book somewhere but of course is generally glossed over.

Further, he said that glutamine is a substance that occurs naturally in many things, including wheat, and is converted to glutamate in the body. It would be practically impossible to avoid eating it and so eating it in tofu should not be a concern.

Having not read the research myself, this is the best info I was able to glean from two second-hand sources.